Agawam Motor Lodge sold, to be demolished with an eye toward redevelopment

AGAWAM -- A Springfield property management group has purchased the long-troubled Agawam Motor Lodge and plans to demolish it with an eye toward redevelopment, according town officials.

The entity that bought the 23 Suffield St. motel, Colvest Group Company, also owns 10 Main St., where a Getty gas station once sat next to the Agawam Motor Lodge.

"The Agawam Motor Lodge is a strategic purchase since we already own the former Getty station next door," Colvest President Frank Colaccino said Wednesday. "Our development plans are still being contemplated and we hope to attract high quality tenants to this location."

The idea is to redevelop the corner of Main and Suffield streets, town officials said.

Colvest also developed the CVS on Springfield Street in Agawam.

"We would like to thank the Colvest Group for their vision and investment in our town's future and we look forward to working with them to redevelop these parcels and make this gateway to our community more attractive," Agawam Mayor Richard Cohen said following the announcement.

The Agawam Motor Lodge, which has historically housed homeless people and the mentally ill, has long been a thorn in the side of town residents. Public discontent came to a head in summer 2015 after a resident said he was bitten by bed bugs and found a hypodermic needle under his mattress.

The Agawam Police Department responded to the motel 184 times from Jan. 1 through the end of May, Cohen said. Twenty-two of those calls were for drug related offenses and domestic violence incidents. There were also 52 ambulance assists, 25 disturbance/nuisance calls and two "unattended death" calls.

The Agawam Fire department also responded to 70 calls during those months.

Following the allegations, Randall G. White, Agawam Health Department director, cited motel owner Chulho Yoo and Sangyeon Yoo with dozens of code violations, including soiled furniture and carpeting and a cockroach infestation. The fire department reported 12 rooms without functioning smoke detectors, and that tenants could be at risk of being trapped inside the structure if a fire were to break out in the lobby.